


Love at First Swim

by PandoraButler



Series: Rewritten Movies [3]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: M/M, Mermaid!Undertaker, The Shape Of Water, crossdressing Vincent, mermaid undertaker, vincent x undertaker, vintaker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:51:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13378563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandoraButler/pseuds/PandoraButler
Summary: Vincent is working as a maid when he meets a creature unlike anything he has ever seen before. He instantly falls in-love with this mysterious being and plans to rescue it from experimentation. Soon after he does, the creature grows attached to him. However, Vincent cannot protect it forever. He must send it back to the sea. Will he? Or will he continue hiding its existence from the world?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off the movie: The Shape of Water.

If I were to tell you the relationship they had, I'm not sure you'd believe me. How could you? Do you believe in creatures you haven't seen before? Do you believe in the unthinkable? I don't think you do, but I'll tell you anyway. Because, this is a story that  _must_  be told. It is a thing that cannot be undone, despite the many people that wish to pretend it never took place. But, it  _did_  happen. I  _did_  see it. So, if but for a moment, you open your mind to the unthinkable, you imagine the impossible, and you place your ideals to the side and take my word as truth, then, and only then, will you be able to understand the story I am about to tell.

Vincent Phantomhive had taken many risks to get the job he currently had. He'd jumped through many hoops and begged many people. He didn't care that he had to dress up as a girl. Money is money. He was a maid. He was fine with being a maid, even if it meant he had to pretend to be mute. He couldn't speak, because if he  _did_  speak they'd realize he wasn't a woman. They'd fire him. No one can say what horrible things would happen if he was discovered. This job was the only one he was able to keep; he wouldn't let it slip through his fingers under any circumstances.

At least, that's what he thought.

However, the day comes to many individuals when they realize the mindset they had, the choices they made, couldn't be permanent. The same is true for Vincent. He was cleaning a certain area, with his best friend coworker, like he usually did, only to have his world changed forever. He stopped and he stared as the scientists rolled in a giant hunk of metal. It was filled with water and contained a being of some sort. Although Vincent couldn't see the being, he knew it was there, he  _felt_  it. He was drawn to it. He wanted to touch it, to free it, to make it happy at all costs. He didn't understand why he felt this way, he just  _did_. Now, he didn't know what to do about his emotions. He didn't know how to help the creature he thought he'd seen.

"Victoria," his coworker whispered, "stop gawking at the equipment and get to work before someone notices you aren't cleaning!" The brilliantly red-headed individual warned. Her name was Angelina Dalles. She had known Vincent for a long time, well, she had known his female counterpart  _Victoria_  for a long time. Angelina still hadn't realized, after all of these years cleaning by him, that he wasn't a woman.

'I'm sorry,' Vincent signed. Over the years he'd learned sign language, and Angelina learned right along with him, since she was the only one who could speak for him. Angelina was his voice, even though she barely knew a thing about Vincent. But that didn't matter, Vincent was thankful for a friend like her.

The two quickly finished up what little cleaning they had left to do. Neither of them wanted to stay too much longer in a room filled with powerful men that hated their existence. Angelina and Vincent pushed the carts of cleaning supplies to the nearest bathroom and began to clean something else. At least they were free of that room, for now. The two ignored the screaming that echoed in the halls. It's origin was quite possibly the room they'd previously cleaned. They didn't want to think about the crimes people committed against humanity, or species themselves, in this place. No good was going to come out of thinking of these things. No good at all. They knew their place. They cleaned; that was it. Nothing more; nothing less.

"Sometimes I just can't get over the stuff that goes down in this place," Angelina began. "Don't get me wrong, Victoria, I love that I earn money and everything but I do wish I'd found a better work environment. Don't you?"

Vincent nodded and continued cleaning the urinals. How many jobs had he applied for? He didn't remember. He needed the money and he has a job now, that's all that matters. Unfortunately, everyone needs money to survive. His apartment wasn't much but at least it was a roof over his head. Besides, he did have a nice neighbor and they'd grown very close over the years.

The door to the bathroom opened and a blonde male wearing white entered. Vincent and Angelina gave each other a quick glance before going back to their cleaning. They'd seen this guy around. They'd heard the rumors about him. He wasn't good news. If they'd been paying attention, which they hadn't, they'd notice that the screaming (from the other room) stopped shortly before he entered the bathroom.

The male placed a black stick on the sinks before walking to a urinal. He'd somehow decided that the urinal directly next to Vincent was the best one to choose. Vincent continued cleaning, trying very hard to avoid any sort of interaction with this individual.

When the male finished his business, he picked up the stick on the sink and walked out. On his way out the door he looked at Vincent and smiled in such a way that sent shivers down Vincent's spine, "Keep up the good work, ladies," he said as the door closed.

Angelina waited a few minutes before speaking. "Can you believe him? I swear, men are always expecting the world to revolve around them. I'm glad I never got married. I can barely stand being in the same room as a man, I doubt I could ever stand living with one. Did you ever have thoughts of marriage, Victoria?"

Vincent wanted to laugh. If only Angelina knew that her best friend was a man. What would she say then? 'I don't think I've ever found the right person,' Vincent signed. Angelina nodded. That was something very difficult to do. Angelina had never looked for the right person since she thought for sure that person didn't exist. But, maybe if she'd looked in the right places she'd find that special someone.

There was a red spot on the sink where that black stick had been. Vincent was entranced by it for a moment. It was as red as Angelina's hair. That could only mean one thing: it was blood. What were they doing to whatever it was they brought in? It had to be a living creature...so why were they treating it so badly?

The two maids continued cleaning, as they do, until their lunch break. However, Vincent didn't go to his normal spot for lunch. He found himself walking towards  _that_  room, the very same room with the mysterious living being that Vincent wasn't supposed to see, but knew existed. Vincent opened the door and snuck in. There was a pool filled with green water. The same hunk of metal he'd seen before was standing in an upright position to the left of it. Vincent carefully walked over to the pool. There was a splash, but he hadn't been able to see what the creature looked like. Vincent sat at the edge, staring into the water as he nibbled on his sandwich.

Not much time had passed and a head peeked out from underneath the water. It stared at Vincent and carefully made its way over to him. Vincent couldn't take his eyes off of it. The creature had long silver hair and the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen. Its eyes were a mix of yellow and green and they seemed to emit a light all on their own. Its face had small teal scales along the side of its cheeks. Vincent couldn't describe the creature as anything but beautiful.

It kept getting closer and closer to Vincent. With each few inches it revealed more of itself. Vincent noticed the same scales on its face were on the rest of its body too. Its skin was a pearly shade which made the scales even  _more_  noticeable. The scales ran along its neck and along its sides branching out into the center of its torso. Along its forearms, facing outward, were webbed fins. Its fingers were webbed too, but still the shade of its scales.

Vincent dropped his sandwich from the shock of it all. This creature was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Was he dreaming? Was this really something that was happening right now? The creature lurched forward and caught the sandwich before it fell to the ground. Where Vincent had legs, this creature had a tail that was covered in the same scales that were on the rest of it. At the end of its tail, peeking out of the water, was a perfectly symmetrical fin.

The creature stared at the item in its hands with a questioning gaze. It cautiously brought the item to its mouth and ate it in the same fashion that Vincent had. Vincent pointed to the food and signed 'sandwich' the creature gave the item back to Vincent and signed 'sandwich' like he had. It tilted it's head to the side and smiled. The movement had caused some of its hair to fall out of place, revealing small fins where Vincent would have ears.

The door to the room opened and Vincent scrambled to hide. He couldn't be caught here. The creature quickly hid back inside the water. Two males walked into the room. One was the same man that had been in the bathroom earlier. The other male had glasses and dark hair. He was wearing a lab coat and looked rather serious.

"Do you think we'll make any progress with that hideous thing?" the blonde asked.

The other male pushed up his glasses and sighed. "It's not a  _thing_ , Mr. Chamber. It's a scientific discovery."

"I don't care what it is, Claude. I just want it out of here as soon as possible. The damn thing is ugly, takes up space, and smells like rotten fish. I have better people to concern myself with."

"Please tell me you aren't talking about that mute maid," Claude shook his head in shame. His boss was a complete lunatic. If only he could talk him into giving him more time with this creature. There are so many things Claude wanted to learn from it.

"But that maid was true beauty," Aleistor placed a hand on his face and closed his eyes for a moment to imagine Vincent. Vincent was thoroughly disgusted on multiple levels. One being that this guy was crushing on him, and another being that this scientist was really planning on experimenting with that beautiful creature.

"In any case," Aleistor pointed his black stick at the pool, "bring it up. If we can't get anything out of it, we're killing it."

Claude pressed a button on the wall and a chain from the ceiling started moving. The creature was being pulled up from the water by the base of its tail. It screamed from the pain of the shackle on its scales. Vincent couldn't watch this any longer. He turned his back and started looking for a way out. Luckily for him, there was a side door. He exited and tried his best to go back to work. His mind kept drifting back to the creature and the agony it must be going through. Vincent tried his best not to think about it and just continue working. Eventually, the day ended and he found himself back at his apartment.

"You look like you've had a tough day at work," a voice said. Vincent looked up to see his roommate at the door. He took off his shoes and sat down directly across from Vincent. He hadn't even bothered to take off his red coat. His roommate was more important than a simple item of clothing.

Vincent was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea between his hands. He hadn't taken a sip. He just kept staring at the warm liquid as his mind drifted back to the creature. "I guess you could say I have had a tough day at work," Vincent said.

"What happened?" his roommate asked.

"I met something," Vincent looked up so that he could make eye contact, "something that I've never seen before. It was beautiful. It wasn't even human. But, it's getting treated unfairly. It's getting hurt. I don't know what to do to help it. I can't just kidnap it, can I?"

"Why the hell can't you? Listen, Vincent, you haven't been this concerned about something since the time I told you Santa wasn't real. If it's worrying you that much you might as well go rescue it," his roommate smiled.

"I can't just walk in there and take it out, Grell," Vincent frowned.

"Sure you can."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to finish this. I was going to add a lot more detail with the movie but I figured I'd just end it nice and sweet before I forgot about it again.

Vincent spent the rest of the night planning out how to rescue the creature with Grell. The next day, the two would break in, kidnap it, and make their escape. Afterwards, the two would hide it in their bathtub and call it a friend. At least, that was the plan anyway. However, something didn't go according to plan. They couldn't have imagined that the day after their dramatic kidnapping, Aleistor Chamber would investigate all of the people there at the night of the crime. They couldn't have expected that Vincent would be one of the first people in Aleistor's office getting hounded with questions. Angelina, nervous beyond belief, had to translate Vincent's sign language for him.

"I don't suppose either of you have anything to do with the events that happened last night, do you?" Aleistor looked at Vincent, glanced at Angelina, and continued staring at Vincent. Angelina shook her head, as did Vincent.

"That lines up with your time cards," Aleistor pushed the rectangular pieces of paper across his desk. "However, I have reason to believe that Victoria might've been related to this event. The cameras show you walking into the room where the incident occurred yesterday, but they never show you leaving. Would you care to explain that? If you never left that room, why do you show up later on that same camera's feed pushing a cleaning cart? And why did you feel the need to enter that room to begin with?"

Vincent calmly signed his response. Angelina, not so calmly, spoke it. "She says that after seeing all that science equipment get wheeled in, she got curious and wanted to check it out while on her lunch break. However, once she got into the room, the door locked, and she had to find another way out. That's why the cameras don't show her leaving. Victoria apologizes for her curiosity. She never would have entered that room if she had known about what was going to happen later. She wants to assure you that if she knew anything, you'd be the first person she'd tell."

Aleistor stared blankly at Vincent and Angelina. Vincent could feel the sweat accumulating on the back of his neck. Did his answer satisfy Aleistor? Did the male before him see through his lies? Vincent couldn't tell. This guy was hard to read. Vincent assumed that Aleistor was only staring at him, instead of Angelina, because he was somehow infatuated with Vincent's ability to dress as a woman. Maybe he'd actually just seen through Vincent? Did Aleistor notice that Vincent was a male? God, he hoped not. Vincent  _needed_  this job. He needed it now more than ever, now that he had the creature  _and_  himself to feed.

"Alright," Aleistor began, "but please try not to act on your curiosity in the future. It brings trouble."

Vincent nodded. Angelina and Vincent stood up and walked out of the room to go back to work. Except, Vincent was too concerned with the creature to think about work. He made up some excuse about feeling sick and left early. Vincent ran to his apartment. He nearly kicked down the door to the bathroom just to check that the creature was still safe. Vincent breathed a sigh of relief and fell to his knees by the bathtub. The creature stared at him in confusion. It reached out and touched his face.  

"It's me," Vincent spoke. He went to go get the wig that had fallen off. He placed it on his head and smiled, "Do you recognize me?" the creature blinked, still confused. He reached up and threw the wig off before hugging Vincent. Apparently it was more interested in Vincent and not Victoria. Vincent snickered. 

Fear crept back up into his mind. He had to take this creature to safety. He couldn't keep him here. They were already suspecting him of taking it. Vincent tried to think of the nearest ocean or something to throw it in. What would be safe? He didn't have time to plan it out. He just had to act. Vincent wrapped the creature in wet sheets and carried it on his back. He had to run as fast as he could. He had to take roads that no one would notice him on. Eventually, he would make it. If he just kept running, he could save it. 

The creature clung to Vincent tightly when they got to the body of water. It didn't want to leave him. "You have to go," Vincent spoke, "I can't keep you safe," he apologized. 

"I knew there was something suspicious about you," Aleistor's voice spoke. Vincent heard a gun. He threw the creature into the water to defend it. It clawed at Vincent's arms. It didn't want to leave. The cuts burned but the gunshot wound burned more. Vincent groaned.

"So, you can make noises? But you can't speak?" Aleistor snickered. "Maybe I'll take advantage of the fact you can't call for help, my sweet canary," he shot Vincent in the leg. Vincent stumbled and nearly fell into the water. 

"Are you still interested in me despite knowing I'm a man?" Vincent asked. He was genuinely interested in the answer. He was also trying to buy time for the creature to escape. It still hadn't moved a single inch. 

"I thought you had just gotten a haircut to disguise yourself," Aleistor nearly dropped his gun in surprise. "You're really a man? Unacceptable!" he shot Vincent again and again in his rage. Vincent lost all of his strength and fell into the water. He could only hope that the creature would save him. 

Vincent's body felt light with the water around him. Moving it was difficult. He watched as the water turned dark due to his blood. Those bright eyes swam towards him. He hadn't named the creature. He'd always thought that eventually the creature would share its name with him.

The creature grabbed Vincent's face and brought it close to its own. It kissed him in order to give him air. Vincent appreciated the sentiment, but he was going to die from blood loss. He could feel himself drifting off. He pleaded with the universe that this beautiful creature would end up being safe. He loved it with all of his heart. 

"Goodbye," Vincent mouthed. 

"I'll never say goodbye," the creature's voice made itself heard in Vincent's mind. It's webbed fingers moved to each wound and a light emitted from them. Vincent's pain could no longer be felt. He was being healed. The creature was healing him. One wound at a time.

Healing wounds was one thing, but Vincent still couldn't breathe under water. He tried to hold on for as long as he could while the creature was distracted but it was becoming more and more difficult. The creature wrapped it's hands around Vincent's neck. Vincent reached up to touch his neck once the hands were removed. It felt weird. He felt weird. He didn't have to worry about air anymore. Were these gills? Was he becoming part fish now? 

The creature grabbed Vincent's hand and swam, "We have to leave," Vincent heard the words in his mind. "It's not safe here for either of us."

"Are you sure it's okay for me to go with you?" Vincent tried to project his thoughts into the creature's mind. He had no way of knowing if it worked or not. 

"You have no other choice. I'm not letting you leave. I've been looking for a mate."

Vincent smiled. He didn't have a home, family, or anyone to return to. He didn't mind becoming a hostage. One thought did cross his mind, would Angelina be okay without him? He wasn't concerned for long. Angelina was a tough woman. She would learn to live with it. 

"My name is Adrian, by the way."

"Vincent," he replied.

"Do you like dressing as a female?"

Vincent snickered even though his laugh just turned to bubbles, "Not necessarily."

"Good," Adrian squeezed Vincent's hand, "you're a lot cuter this way." Vincent refused to blush but he knew his cheeks were slightly pink regardless of his wishes. He had no idea how he would survive under water but he knew everything would be fine as long as Adrian was safe from the humans.


End file.
